ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — John Petrow said he moved to Davis Shores in St. Augustine from the Florida Keys, in part, because of what he noticed to be an increasing amount of traffic over time.
He told us traffic near his house, at least during this Nights of Lights season, is starting to feel just as overwhelming now as it did when he moved eight years ago.
“It really has gotten worse,” Petrow said, “it’s never been this bad.”
Petrow lives close to the east side of the Bridge of Lions. He claims he’s seeing more downtown visitors and workers leaving their cars on his street to avoid paying for parking for the Nights of Lights.
We reported last month when the city made a list of traffic changes aimed at pushing traffic out of downtown, including parking garage prices being raised to $40 per day and street parking being barricaded. But some neighbors like Petrow, living in Davis Shores, believe more traffic is being pushed into his neighborhood as a result.
“I have just been blatantly avoiding going into the city,” Petrow said, “it really baffles me that the traffic has reached this point in the eight years I’ve lived here.”
We reached out to the St. Augustine Police Department and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office to ask if anything was currently being done to direct traffic in Davis Shores during the Nights of Lights. The sheriff’s office sent us the following statement:
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“SJSO is working with SAPD to direct traffic and assist with traffic flow in this area. It’s a busy time of year for our area, and we are providing support where possible to ensure the safety of all visitors and drivers.”
SAPD, meanwhile, told us that it does not have the officers available to help the flow of traffic in Davis Shores, since all of the department’s resources are stationed downtown.
The city told us that, since Nights of Lights will end in the coming weeks, it will not be instituting any new traffic changes in neighborhoods like Davis Shores at this time. We are told, however, that city commissioners will be evaluating this year’s traffic changes sometime in January to see what needs to change to create a better flow of traffic for future seasons of the Nights of Lights.
The city said it is aware of the traffic complaints from neighbors in Davis Shores and said that it would be looking into possibly restricting street parking in that neighborhood and other large neighborhoods, like Lincolnville, in the coming months. For this Nights of Lights season, the city said it tested out restricted street parking in smaller neighborhoods like Uptown to see if it would improve local traffic during the Nights of Lights.
Neighbors like Petrow hope something is done soon to address their traffic concerns.
“They’re going to have to address it,” Petrow said, “but I fear what the future holds, as far as congestion.”
The next St. Augustine city commission meeting is scheduled for January 12th.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.